


AGE in the Ashlands

by Ignicula



Category: God Eater (Video Games), God Eater 3
Genre: Card Games, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Hostage Situations, Male Protagonist is Not Happy with Lulu, Paranoia, Starvation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:20:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23706010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ignicula/pseuds/Ignicula
Summary: The Chrysanthemum picks up a distress signal while passing through an area controlled by Baran. They dispatch their AGEs and God Eater to respond, but the person they rescue isn't quite what they expect, nor what they were prepared for.In other words, a retelling of the meeting between Lulu and the Chrysanthemum and the events that result from it.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this one stewing for a while. If people like it, I might write a second chapter for it from Lulu's POV. I hope you all enjoy!

_ “Did you hear from Amy? We picked up a distress signal from an unknown caravan nearby. A signal in this region probably means Baran… I’d prefer to avoid contact with that port. On the surface, they’re well off and supported by wealth and technology, but their treatment of AGEs is the most inhumane of any port. I’ve heard rumors that they force them to eat each other to give them a taste for blood. Even so, we can’t ignore that distress signal, regardless of who it comes from. Please be careful, just about anything could be waiting for you.” _

Things, Luca Pennywort thought, had been going well lately. Amy, Hilda, and Ricardo seemed trustworthy, they were no longer kept in a cell, they ate good food every day and received medical treatment and payment in compensation for their work, not to mention he’d finally managed to strike up a friendship with Claire… he thinks.

He doesn’t know why, but he  _ really  _ wants to be friends with Claire. And no, despite the teasing he’d gotten from Zeke, he had no romantic intentions towards her. He just…  _ really  _ wanted to be her friend.  _ Maybe she just has that sort of aura… Well, Hugo wouldn’t say so. _

And so with the way things had been going, he supposed it was about time to pay some of that back into the world. Someone was sending a distress signal, and so they would go and help them. 

As they prepare to enter the mission area, Amy’s voice speaks through his headset. “Ash levels will not hinder the mission. Take care, everyone.”

Luca leaps down the drop and into the field, beginning to rush towards the nearest threat.  _ If we want to search for whoever sent the distress signal, we need to clear out the local Aragami first.  _

“Work time,” Zeke comments in his usual mission-start catchphrase. 

“It’ll be fine… I guess.” Claire is already looking around for the sender of the distress signal. As Luca pulls ahead, he loses the range plain ears can hear and instead hears their voices only through his headset. 

“The ashlands seem to have swallowed everything.” Hugo comments idly, before… “Oi, Luca, where are you going?”

“Eliminating aragami,” He says shortly, sprinting for a Cocoon Maiden. It and its companions begin firing their ranged attacks at him with their ghostly war cries, but evading the slow-moving projectiles is a piece of cake. He stabs the first directly in the face, breaking right through the core.  _ Of all the places they could’ve thought to put that, they put it in the easiest place to access… and the place everyone tries to hit when they’re angriest. I suppose this is why they’re small-types in a world where everything is bigger and stronger than them. _

He executes a swift shield-dive at the next, ramming it in the face, and as he drops he brings both blades down on its skull. With a broken core, the thing can no longer function.  _ That’s two _ . The last one, seeing his approach, launches spikes out of the front of its body to try and impale him.  _ Bingo.  _ He dodges around the spikes and, with a quick devour, takes off its entire upper body.

The others are still rushing up behind him when he sees more breaking through the earth a short distance away, disturbed by the previous battle. He takes a moment to devour the remains in case they have anything useful. In that time, seeming to realize they finally have a chance to catch up to him, the other three shield-dive into combat.

_ Hey, don’t go leaving me behind!  _ For some reason he feels like there’s something wrong with that thought, but he’s too busy following them to pay it any more mind. 

“Alright, here we go!” There’s a loud smashing sound as Zeke flattens one with his boost hammer. It springs right back up, eliciting a shocked and very offended cry from Zeke.

“They’re tough nuts to crack,” Hugo jokes, “Just keep going at it.”

As it turns out, Luca thinks as he spots the large group of Surts heading their way, it was probably for the best that he stayed behind so that the others don’t get flanked. “I’ll handle these ones,” He says casually into his mic before he switches to gun form.  _ Might as well thin out the herd while I have the opportunity.  _ He fires the laser from his gun, casually watching as they die one by one in their attempt to reach him. There’s just enough of them and not enough space between him and the enemy that they do manage it. He switches to blade form, slips around one as it tries to gore him, and begins the long process of trying to carve into it enough with his two short blades to reach the core and finish it off. Another one charges before he’s done and as he dodges he unleashes a devour attack into its side. It takes a leg, and the creature falls over. 

He dances through the next few strikes, retaliating with his own. One runs off, and he spots Hugo running down the hill to assist him.  _ Must’ve killed the cocoon maidens.  _ The creature’s attempt to flee is brutally cut off by Hugo’s God Arc, its body falling in half from the strike.

Luca finishes off two more before Claire’s bullets enter the fray, expertly striking the aragami around him without hitting him. Zeke is next to the scene, bashing in the horns on one to stop its charge. Luca takes the opportunity to devour what’s left of its skull and change his blade to glaive form, swiftly darting around it and stabbing into its gut.  _ There’s another one down.  _ The last two are handled by the swift attacks of Hugo and Zeke, bringing the short fight to an end. 

_ “That looks like all the aragami in the area are eliminated.”  _ Amy says. 

“Any sign of where the distress signal is coming from?”

_ “Unfortunately no. It’s likely that by this point…” _

Luca fills in the rest in his head.  _ It’s highly likely that the ash already finished off whoever sent it before we arrived. The distress signal wouldn’t continue to send if the vital signs of the sender ceased.  _

“Well, let’s head back. There’s nothing more we can do.” Hugo decides with a grave tone. 

“I see… so we were too late.” Claire says quietly. 

“Man, shit like this leaves a bad taste in my mouth.” Zeke comments. “It’s great that we managed to clear the way and all, but we couldn’t do it fast enough.”

Luca’s eyes trace the area, the slim hope in his chest that he might spot whoever the sender was alive and well before they returned. He gives a sigh when he doesn’t.

“Luca?”

“I’m coming,” Luca calls, following after the other three back the way they came.

They’re almost there when suddenly Amy’s frantic voice cuts through their headsets.  _ “Hold on! Life signs detected nearby, it’s faint! It looks like an AGE! I only see one!” _

“Which way?” Hugo says.

“Up the slope behind the waterfalls!” Amy tries to guide them. “It’s somewhere near there!”

“Let’s move,” Hugo orders. Luca fluidly turns on his heel and rushes up the slope.  _ Another AGE… and they’re still alive. That means they can be saved like Hugo, Zeke, the kids and I were saved from Pennywort. We didn’t fail our mission just yet. _

It doesn’t take long for the group to reach the top of the hill, and they slow to a walk as they do so, eyes scanning the area so they don’t miss anything.

“Is this the area?” Hugo asks, still searching.

_ “Yes, any visual?”  _ Amy confirms.

It’s Claire that spots her first. “There!” She rushes for the form lying on the ground, and Luca’s eyes widen at the sight.  _ Wait, something’s not right! _

“Claire, wait!” Zeke calls, catching onto the threat as soon as he and Hugo do. The girl suddenly leaps up from her ‘unconscious state’, sticking a perfect landing on the ground in front of Claire. Her twin blades slash at Claire just like Luca would slash at an aragami.

He sprints to Claire’s side and shoves her out of the way, blocking the two blades with his own. They lock narrowed eyes, and Luca can see her sizing him up in the same way he sizes her up.

_ He doesn’t like it. _

He sees Claire try to lunge into the fight, but Hugo cuts her off. “Luca’s on it. He’s an experienced AGE, he’ll be fine. Just stay back here and provide support.”

Hugo should be more careful what he says. Were he anyone else that would’ve given him a fatal ego-boost.

He and the girl trade blows, and he notes with a sense of caution that her skills are on par with his own in terms of one on one combat against other AGEs. He feels more than sees Hugo charging in as well, managing to disengage with a harsh strike that staggers her. Hugo leaps into the opening, bringing his sword hard against her guard to stagger her further. Zeke launches from overhead, hammer raised, but the shout he lets out in the process gives the AGE enough time to steady her stance and guard against the strike before he attacks. Luca launches himself back into the fray with a flurry of strikes, Lulu dodging around them and attempting a few parries that he evades as well. Zeke darts in, forcing him back and breaking his barrage of attacks. The girl flips over the first strike of his hammer, and backflips as he tries to reverse it on her, dodging again. On the third repeat of this, Zeke gives a frustrated cry. “Is this the circus?!” Luca intervenes to drive her away, and she manages to dodge his strike as well, stepping out of his range and into Hugo’s line of attack.

“You’re mine!” Hugo cries, ready to strike.

“Activate.” The girl’s voice breaks the air for the first time, and something…  _ changes _ . It’s almost a red staticky quality to the air that springs up around her, and suddenly her movements are far stronger and faster. Hugo’s attack is forced into a swift block as she charges, knocking him several feet backwards.

“What’s with this weirdo?” He cries.

Luca would choose a few more interesting words to call her than that, but there’s no time to think about it as Zeke charges in with more wild swings. Against an Aragami, those would be effective, but not against this AGE. She switches to Glaive form, taking the blow head on in a block that rings out like a bell, Luca flinching from the sound. He’s never seen anyone try to tank a hit from a boost hammer like that before, much less someone with the lightest of all weapons. This girl doesn’t even seem phased. She knocks Zeke back, pressing her attack. Luca’s eyes widen as he sees just how close she is to beheading him with every strike.

“Woah, time out!” He cries. Luca sprints in on the offensive, but by the time he’s arrived the girl has used a harsh enhanced strike from her palm to send Zeke flying.  _ You’ll pay for that!  _ They trade blow after blow, Luca swiftly switching to glaive form to attempt to match her own strikes. Sparks fly with every clash of blades and he has to be careful to avoid letting them dazzle him. 

_ Just a little more and I can break through her defense!  _ Suddenly she breaks her attack pattern, dodges one of his strikes, and stabs at his stomach. He leaps out of the way as Hugo charges in to take his place, only for her to twist, block him the same way she blocked Zeke, and strand him in midair. “Eh?” Hugo gasps, and begins a curse as he realizes he’s stranded in the air.

“HUGO!” He’s not fast enough to intervene as she rounds on him, but he’s relieved beyond relief when she fails to finish him off, instead kicking him in the gut and casting him out of the fight.

_ Even if you decided to have mercy on him, I’m not going to let up. I need to finish this as soon as possible or else… _

Claire joins the fray with a stream of bullets, forcing the girl to leap back. Luca charges in, striking at her guard again and again, and when Claire lets up, Zeke lunges from behind, attempting a sneak attack.

Luca’s not sure what gave him away. His shadow was the wrong way, he didn’t make a sound. With guilt, he realizes that it’s probably the way Luca and Claire’s eyes flickered to him when they noticed him leaping in. The girl turns, disarms him with a harsh strike, and disengages with Luca to chase after the unarmed AGE.

“Zeke!” He cries, lunging. He won’t make it in time, and for a moment he’s terrified that he’s about to see the other Age’s head fly from his body, to see blood all over that girl’s god arc.

He’s not sure whether to be relieved or enraged when she takes him hostage instead. 

“Throw down your God Arcs,” She snaps, blade held to Zeke’s throat, “ _ Now. _ ”

“Crap… I’m sorry, guys.” Zeke curses.

Luca exchanges a look with Hugo, and they both nod. Further fighting isn’t worth the risk to Zeke’s life.

They simultaneously kneel, setting down their god arcs, before rising again. Their movements are slow and careful, now with a line on the line and a person of questionable mental stability the judge of whether or not that life continues or ends here.

_ “Hugo-san, why are you in combat? Hugo-san?”  _ They finally have a moment to pay attention to Amy’s frantic communications. Luca had tuned them out automatically when the battle began. Behind them, Claire reluctantly follows their lead and puts her own God Arc down as well.

“What do you want?” Hugo demands. 

“Let me speak to your commander,” the girl says coldly, bringing her blade closer to Zeke’s throat to make her point. “But before that, step away from your god arcs. Twenty paces to the right.” So they aren’t in easy grabbing reach. 

Luca levels a glare at this girl, anger welling up at her actions.  _ If you wanted to speak to our commander, you hardly had to take one of us hostage to do it. Now you toy with us to satisfy your own lust for blood and power? I don’t have any sort of delusion that AGEs are monsters like the humans and most normal God Eaters believe, but I’m hardly naive enough to believe every one of us is a good person. _

_ The second you let your guard down, the second I can free Zeke… You’re done for. _

Her eyes lock with his and she emphasizes her point. “ _ Now _ .”

Bitter hatred wells up in his gut as he follows Claire and Hugo to the designated location, feeling almost naked to be out here without his God Arc in hand.  _ It’s fine. I can fight without it.  _ But could he fight against her if she used that strange ability a second time? 

_ Probably not. It enhances her physical abilities, and with weapons we’re evenly matched. I don’t know what kind of hand-to-hand training she’s had, but it’s clearly not the first time she’s fought multiple AGEs at once. She likely has fought hand-to-hand far more than I have if this is the case. _

“I need to speak to your commander.” She reiterates. “You, in the orange. Walk forwards slowly, give me your headpiece.”

She read them right. Hugo’s the less likely to try and break her neck of the two of them right now… Though if she wanted the least angry she probably should have gone for Claire.  _ She probably thinks she can’t trust a normal God Eater. _

Hugo steps forwards, and with every step his friend takes towards the other AGE, he feels anxiety grow. _ She already has one of us… no, she has all of us. The closer he is to her the more danger he’s in, and if Zeke or Hugo does anything, she can just kill Zeke and use Hugo as her hostage instead.  _ It takes a lot of effort to remain still instead of shifting, fear for all of their lives starting to settle in.

_ Still, if she wants to talk at all that’s a good sign. I feel like if she wanted us all dead she’d have killed us already… _

_ Though we might die here anyways depending on what she says to Hilda. _

“Hilda, I’m putting our attacker on the line. She says she wants to talk,” Hugo says into the headpiece.

_ “Go ahead _ ,” Hilda’s voice sounds.

Hugo slowly reaches out, handing it to the AGE girl. “I am a Baran AGE, Codename Lulu.” The girl says.  _ Lulu Baran.  _ Hugo slowly backs away at her prompting. “I was left stranded here by my vessel during a mission, and I am requesting transport back to Baran.”

And she thought  _ attacking them  _ was the best way to ask? That didn’t exactly curry her any favor with any of them  _ at all.  _

_ “You gave us a rather rough greeting, don’t you think?”  _ Hilda seems to be of the same mind as he is. 

“I understand. I apologize for the incident,”  _ apologize when you don’t have a blade to Zeke’s neck, why don’t you!  _ “However I mean you no harm.”

He bites his tongue.  _ Rich coming from the one who attacked us, hurt Hugo and Zeke, and is now threatening to kill Zeke if we so much as twitch the wrong way. _

“I’m not gonna take that b...Urgh!” Zeke is abruptly cut off by the blade pressing closer to his throat. Luca lurches forwards on reflex, and her eyes snap onto his, cold and promising death if he gets one step closer.

With great strain, gritting his teeth, Luca steps backwards. 

_ I don’t think I’ve hated anyone but the guards at Pennywort quite like this before.  _

“You should know that I held myself back. It’s the only method we are taught.”

_ Yet you knew other methods existed.  _ He’s not buying into this shit. If she wanted help, they were  _ there  _ to help. They spat that back in their faces and  _ now  _ she’s asking.

_ “First, I’ll make contact with Baran to confirm your identity. It may take a little time to do that; I assume you can wait while I do?” _

Her eyes scan the group of them with distrust, as if she’s the one being threatened and not them. Luca wonders if he can kill her with his eyes. Might as well start trying now.

“That’s fine.” She seems unaware of his silent endeavor. 

They remain in tense silence, all on high alert, while they wait for Hilda’s response.

Instead of over the radio, however, the first thing they hear are footsteps. Luca’s head snaps around, eyes wide, to see none other than one of the two resident humans Hilda Henriquez herself out walking around in the ashlands where they’ve all been taken hostage by a hostile AGE.  _ Are you suicidal?! _

Hugo catches on as well. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” He cries, face creased in worry. Lulu’s eyes widen as well, realizing that she’s looking at a normal human brave (or stupid) enough to go waltzing through the ashlands. 

“He is a member of my crew,” Hilda says in reference to Zeke as she walks to the front of the group. “Could you do me a favor and let him go?”

Lulu’s eyes narrow and she seems about ready to slash his throat wide open. She brings her remaining blade up and aims it at Hilda. “I already told you, you’re bringing me to Baran!”

“There doesn’t seem to be an AGE named Lulu,” She says, and suddenly Luca realizes why she’s out here.

_ If she said that over the radio, there’s a good chance Lulu would have become infuriated, not believed it, and taken our lives in a fit of rage. Here Hilda at least shares the risk and conveys some of her sincerity in doing so. _

“What?”

“I’ve searched every record we have and contacted Baran as well.” Hilda replies. “But everywhere I check, I get the same result. “No person named Lulu exists”.”

“That… no, that can’t be right.” Luca tenses at the panic on her face, ready for her to snap at any second. He won’t have time to go for his weapon, he’ll have to risk it and try to restrain her barehanded. 

“I-I mean, I was just on a mission…” He shifts his weight forwards, waiting for the snap. 

“I’m sorry, but you’re…” Hilda trails off.

“...I see.”

What he expects is for her to take out her anger on Zeke. She is, from what he’s seen so far, unstable. Instead, her God Arc drops from her hands and hits the ground. Zeke leaps away from her, taking shelter with the rest of them. “So what the heck is going on?”

The girl drops to her knees. “I… I’ve been cast aside.”

At these words, Luca can’t help but feel pity for her, but it doesn’t even  _ begin  _ to overwhelm the rest of this horrible experience so far. Now that the threat is over, he prowls over to his own God Arc and lifts it off the ground, taking careful strides towards her so he’s in range should she snap after all. “Zeke, are you okay?” Hugo asks.

“I’m fine,” Zeke replies, though he’s rubbing his throat as he says this. “Let’s just get our God Arcs and get back on the ‘Mum. Can’t have Hilda staying out here too long after all.”

“Right. Oy, you,” Hugo turns to look at Lulu, “If you’re coming, we have to head back to our Ash Crawler now.”

“Right.” She gathers herself and stands as Hugo, Claire, and Zeke retrieve their weapons. “I have nowhere else to go.”

She stumbles as she walks, and Hugo sends Luca a pleading look as if asking him to help her. This is the first time he actually glares and shakes his head at Hugo. He doesn’t want to poke that thing with a ten foot pole, let alone put himself in convenient stabbing range. Hugo seems to sigh, but doesn’t push it.

The walk back to the Ash Crawler is rushed as fast as they can rush it with one person dragging her feet and the other being a human in heels. When they return, Claire immediately drags Hilda to medical to make sure she didn’t take any damage from the ash. Lulu is brought with them due to the fact that she was likely injured before their battle.

“Whew, that was nerve-wracking.”

“Are you sure you’re okay, Zeke?” He can’t help but fret. Zeke is the youngest of the three after all. 

“I’m fine, just a bit shaken up! Still…” His eyes drift towards the medical bay. “She was abandoned, wasn’t she? I guess AGEs are the same in every port.”  _ Baran is supposed to be the worst of them, so I’m not surprised.  _ “... I wonder what she’s going to do now?”

“Zeke?” Hugo asks.

“Oh, don’t mind me.” The other boy waves it off. “Just thinking. Besides that, she was pretty strong, wasn’t she?”

“Lulu Baran…” Hugo muses in seeming agreement. “She was. I’m impressed anyone could hold their own against Luca here. She had a little trick up her sleeve, though.”

“That strange aura?” Luca prompted.

“Yeah, that thing. What was that?”

“Yeah, Keith identified it.” Hugo answers. “She’s got something really crazy in that God Arc of hers. If things don’t go right, it could destroy the body of its owner.”

“Then that’s why the life signs were so faint,” Luca deduced. “She must’ve been using it before we found her.”

Hugo grits his teeth. “Everyone treats AGEs like disposable objects. I won’t stand for it… I’ll put an end to it.”

While he agrees with Hugo… “Sure she’s been through a lot, but she’s hardly the friendliest or most stable person in the world. I don’t trust her.”

“Yeah, you made that pretty clear when you were trying to shoot lasers out of your eyes at her.” Zeke jokes.

“Y-you noticed?”

“Wait you were actually trying?”

Hugo sighs. “I understand how you feel, and I do not in any way condone or attempt to justify her actions on the field today. All we can do is attempt to move past them.”

Luca, however, isn’t buying into it. “If she wants me to trust her, she can prove she’s trustworthy. That’ll be quite the task after what she just pulled.” He scowls. “Just because she’s a fellow AGE doesn’t make her someone who should be trusted.”

“Well, depending on how things go we won’t be around her for much longer.” Hugo tries to pacify him. “But if she does decide to stay…  _ please  _ try to get along.”

“I make no promises.” Luca replies coldly. “You think Keith will mind if I barge in to sharpen my God Arc?”

“Luca, please.” Hugo groans. “I think that’s enough for now. We get it. She won’t be armed in the ash crawler, so we won’t have to worry about her being a threat.”

“...Fine.” He has to admit that the Hugo seal of approval is rather easy to get. That’s why he distrusts everyone, never fully lets his guard down. It’s paid off quite a few times before now, but still… He owes it to Hugo to give this AGE a chance…

Even if he really doesn’t like that thought.

O

Later, a meeting is called in the Lobby. All crew of the Chrysanthemum are to be present while they discuss what had happened. 

“If there are no objections from you, I’d like to have her join our crew.” Hilda says, and Luca feels irritation rising at her.  _ She’s gotten the Hilda seal of approval too. It’s starting to get hard to be mad at her.  _

“Are you sure it’s safe to have her?” Zeke asks apprehensively. “I mean, I’m fine with it, but…”

“I don’t trust her.” Luca blurts that out there, but at the same time… “But I don’t want to cast her out when there’s nowhere else for her to go.” That would be unnecessarily cruel. 

Claire nods along. “She really doesn’t have a place to go home now, does she?”

“I say go for it.” And there’s typical Hugo, putting his complete trust in a complete stranger who tried to kill them not hours prior. “She’s strong and effective in combat. There’s nothing more important in an AGE than that.”

Plenty more things important in a  _ person _ , Luca would like to rebuke. He stops himself, though.  _ Hugo… may be right. If I’d been raised as an AGE without Hugo, who’s to say I would’ve wound up any different? _

Finally Keith can’t stay silent anymore, raising his hand. “Hey hey! I want a chance to analyze that acceleration trigger!” He’s practically vibrating. Luca almost rolls his eyes fondly.  _ Of course THAT would be the first thing to occur to Keith.  _

“I agree with Madame Hilda!” Amy declares, “Though I guess that’s nothing new…”

“Heh… thanks, everyone.” Hilda says, looking over all of them. “Now all that remains is to see what her will is on this matter.”

“Hmm… Her will, huh?” Zeke asks, “Seems pretty messed up to drop that kind of choice on an AGE with her strict training. Right?” He looks to them for support. Luca raises an eyebrow and shakes his head before exchanging looks with Hugo.  _ She’s an adult, she can make decisions for herself.  _ “W-woah, you’re way too serious.” Wait, was that meant to be a joke?

_ I don’t get it. _

“I’m with Luca here. No matter what situation you find yourself in, your future is your own choice.” Not  _ exactly  _ how he would have worded it, but close enough. Not to mention it’s much more inspirational. Luca can’t help but get a fond look on his face at it.

_ This is why you’re the leader, Hugo. Always going off and saying inspirational crap like that. _

“Yeah… I guess that’s what freedom is, after all.” Zeke seems to be considering it for himself. 

A slight whisper comes from the hallway, and Luca’s eyes drift to the barely-visible form of their lurker.  _ Should I call her over?  _

It looks like he doesn’t have to. She steps out of the shadows herself, joining the group.

“Ah,” Claire gasps, surprised by her entry. Zeke’s stance is wary as she approaches, and though Luca doesn’t think she’ll attack, he still keeps a scrutinizing glare on her, arms folded, as she approaches Hilda. 

There’s a pause as she considers her words. “I... have nothing to offer.” She finally states.

Hilda sighs. “It’s like the others said,” she tells the AGE, “It’s up to you to decide on your path in life now.” Lulu looks away, considering. “If you’ve come here, you’ve already made a choice, haven’t you?”

She raises her arm, looking at the armband on it that was made to function as a chain. Luca remembers the feeling of being free of those chains for the first time and realizes she must be feeling that emotion herself. “Is it… alright if I stay with you?”

Zeke snickers from behind her. “Heck yeah! I’m not gonna let a chance like this slide! That accel trigger you have, let me give it a try!”

That idiot.

“Huh? Well, it’s not finished.”

Oh you’ve got to be…

“Then we’ll assist you in completing it,” Hilda declares. “Let’s say you contribute your skills and tech in exchange for a warm bed. How does that sound?”

“Are you sure?” Lulu asks.

It’s taking considerable effort to not get swept up in the mood. Luca’s still fighting it, he’s still  _ pissed  _ at how she greeted them, he’s  _ not  _ starting to relax and he’s most  _ certainly  _ not dropping the judgmental glare…

Everyone else gives nods of approval, and finally he sighs, relenting, and gives his own. 

“Alright!” Zeke jumps and punches the air. “Then let’s get the party going! We’re going to play cards all night! How’s your poker game?”

“Uh, um, okay.” She responds. “I know the rules.”

“The party’s on!” Zeke cheers. 

Keith interrupts him before he can go any further. “Um, Nii-chan? Sorry, I’m going to sit this one out. I can’t wait any longer to take a peek at that accel trigger!” What started off as serious turns into overflowing excitement. 

Zeke slings an arm over his brother’s shoulders. “Seriously, you’re always such a wet blanket! Get with the program, will you?”

Luca’s program is to go return to sharpening his god arc and nursing his grudge. He doesn’t think that’s going to happen.

“After you, bro, after you!”

“Huh? Well, everyone else is obligated, got it?” He points at them. 

_ What do you want from us exactly? _

Then Claire is nodding with a giggle. Hugo sighs with a fond look on his face. “If we have to,” his voice is fake put-upon, and Luca feels eyes on him. He turns so he doesn’t have to look at Hugo’s gaze prompting him to join in.  _ I’m not going to… _

“Luca…” Owwowwoww!  _ Why is he pinching my cheeks?  _ “F-fine, okay!” He says, voice distorted. He hears laughter around the room at his expense, but can’t bring himself to mind it. He’s too busy rubbing his sore cheeks and trying not to pout. 

“Heh, it’ll be a nice change of pace,” Hilda agrees. They all walk towards the table, leaving Luca and Lulu standing.

“Um…” Lulu looks at him, nervous.

He sighs, nodding. “Let’s join them,” and moves to the table.

_ Why is it so hard to stay mad at people like her? I blame Hugo. all the way. _

He does, however, catch the surprised smile on her face when he walks to the table, and for some reason the remaining grudge fades away without Hugo’s assistance.

“Alright, who’s the dealer?” Zeke cries. “Let’s get this welcome party started!”

For some reason, when Lulu joins them, it feels natural to have another person there. 

_...I think I’m starting to catch the Hugo disease.  _ “I’ll deal,” he says, taking the deck and starting to do so. “Next time the loser deals.”

“Sounds good to me! Lulu, prepare to face defeat!”

“I’ll take that challenge,” She says with a smirk on her face.

O

Needless to say, Lulu proves her poker skills and Zeke… does  _ not  _ prove his. By the end of the party, Luca can’t say he fully trusts the other AGE yet, but… he’s open to the idea.


	2. A Puppet with Cut Strings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The meeting through Lulu's eyes, and how she came to be abandoned by Baran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, I decided to turn this into a two-shot after all. As it turns out... Lulu was not actually doing all that okay before they met her.

All she can feel are the echoes of pain oh-so-close to the surface, the cold, rough ground against her face, the steady feeling of the Ashlands eroding away at her and a breeze on her back. These sensations slowly grow, luring her into wakefulness.

_ Where am I? _

Clearly, she’s in the ashlands. Cracking her eyes open, she casts a glance all around her, only confirming that she is alone.

_ How did I get here? _

She searches her mind, dragging up the memories of her mission. She was there to test the Acceleration Trigger, and it had gone wrong. The others were gone.

_ How much time has passed? _

She tilts her head to the side, eyes on the sky. The sun is close to the horizon now, slowly descending. It was well before noon when she arrived.

_ Hours.  _

She sits up, looking around at the area she’s in.  _ When I failed to report back, Baran most likely assumed I died.  _

As interesting an idea as it is, to be free of Baran to do whatever she pleases, she knows it is not to be.  _ I may have a high ash resistance, but I can still feel it eating away at me. I need to find a way back to Baran before the ash kills me. _

She rustles through her equipment, managing to find her spare radio. The one on her head is cracked and broken, unlikely to function for her purpose. She takes the batteries from it, hoping that she won’t need to make use of said batteries even if she is prepared to considering how long it would mean she’d been out here, and activates her distress signal.

_ If Baran picks it up, they won’t take too long to respond. I have valuable data on their acceleration trigger, so they’ll want me back to do examinations. I won’t be disposed of yet. _

Well, she dearly hopes that.

She scavenges through the area, knowing it will take some time for Baran to respond to her, and manages to set up a small camp under a waterfall with what she finds.  _ This will have to do for now. _

She settles in to wait, hoping that someone comes to find her soon.

_ I have nowhere else to go. _

O

Water is not an issue. She can deal with the small-type aragami that lurk in the area quite easily, and soon they simply avoid her and fight each other. It’s almost like she’s become one with their natural environment.

_ I can’t keep going like this. _

All it will take is one medium - large type to upset that. If something big finds her, she will have to fight. If something  _ too  _ big finds her…

_ Then it’s over for me. _

Her camp has proved to be stable. The things she’s found scattered about by other AGEs who died in the area all come in handy. That leaves her with the singular issue of food.

_ What do I eat? _

Despite being an Adaptive God Eater, she cannot actually eat the aragami. Her God Arc cannot transfer nutrients to her when it uses a devour attack. If it could, that would make things a lot easier. After three days without food and with no response on her distress signal, with the ash contamination slowly getting worse and worse, it hits Lulu that  _ no one is coming for her.  _ She’s been left here to die.

On the morning of day four, she knows she won’t last much longer. It’s strange, though, the way she subconsciously starts lashing out, trying to resonate with anything and everything. It scares the small types away, but she has to fight an Ukonvasara attracted by the commotion. It’s hard in her hunger-weakened state and she comes to realize that if even a gboro-gboro attacks her at this point, she will die. 

The sun sets on day four leaving her hungry and on the brink of death. She switches out the batteries on her signal device. It will last for three more days, which she already knows is longer than she will. Whoever answers will more than likely find her corpse.

Day five comes with disorientation like she’s never experienced in her life, but a strange awareness of everything around her that she’s never had before. It’s fascinating, she thinks, drunk on her own thoughts. She can sense everything. She senses the small-types roaming about, a few medium sized aragami prowling the edges of her consciousness. At one point she swears she senses a nemain if only for the way she swears she can smell the strong scent of chicken with her mind.

And then…

Something  _ strong  _ shows up.

Lulu has encountered something like this only once. She’s only seen power to compare to it one time before in her life, and it came from a foe she wishes she’d never had the bad luck of ever seeing.

It came from an  _ ashborn aragami. _

There are other sources of power, each at the level of medium/large types. They are swift and deadly, wiping out a group of small types, and they  _ resonate  _ with each other.

That’s what brings Lulu back to full consciousness. They’re not aragami, they’re God Eaters… and if they’re resonating, Adaptive ones at that. 

_ A team of AGEs… _

_ Has Baran come for me? _

Her eyes flicker up from where she’s lying face down in the dirt, listening to the sound of voices as the world sharpens.

There are four of them; three AGEs and one God Eater. She can already practically smell Gleipnir on the God Eater, and knows that Baran has not come to her aid.

Somehow… it infuriates her. So when the Gleipnir God Eater rushes to her side, she puts all her strength and awareness into standing up. She will have one final stand and she will  _ make them  _ take her back to Baran, even if Baran doesn’t want her!

The black-and-white haired AGE wisely stops the God Eater from approaching, but the white-haired one charges in on his own. Lulu has exactly a moment to realize that what she’d deliriously mistaken for an ashborn aragami is actually a smallish scrawny-looking AGE before he’s upon her.

She’s immediately taken off-guard by his skill in combat, and her mind sharpens as she draws upon every second of her training with her Shishou in order to fight him off. Her reprieve is given when the purple AGE rushes in with his boost hammer, forcing him to disengage.  _ He shouldn’t have done that. _

The fighting is a blur to her, a whirlwind. She blocks, parries, evades strikes, and trades blows with them. They curse her and she mentally curses them back.

Gunshots snap her out of the battle haze and she leaps away from the shots of the God Eater, who had finally found a way to join in the fighting. White hair is on her immediately with a flurry of strikes.

This is a fight against a person like she’s never had before. He’s not as strong in terms of fighting ability as she’d thought, rather being perfectly on-par with her in terms of skill. His strength, agility, and resonance, however, are of a much higher quality.

_ He was never trained. _

All she needs to do is match his strength and speed in combat, and she’ll win.

_ And she has just the tool to use in order to do it. _

“Activate.”

It’s the pain that roars through her limbs as she rushes back into combat that shocks her back to reason.  _ Why am I fighting? Why am I attacking these people who most likely came here to help me?  _

She has no idea, but by now… it’s too late to take her actions back. If she is to survive this encounter, she has to dive headfirst into the hole she’s dug herself and find a way out herself.

And so she takes the youngest one hostage. 

“Zeke!” A shout sounds, and she realizes she’s only heard the voice once in the fight, when she’d kicked the orange one in the stomach. Her eyes hone in on the wild blue eye of the white-haired age, panic and tension making him tense like a spring, boiling into rage at what she’s just done.

_ I’ve made a powerful enemy. _

“Throw down your God Arcs,” She says, the first words she’s spoken to anyone in almost a week. “Now.” The two AGEs exchange looks, nod, and drop their weapons. Hesitantly, the God Eater follows their lead.

“Crap…” Her hostage curses. “I’m sorry, guys.”

The effects of her acceleration trigger wear off, and she feels like she’s made of lead. She keeps her grip strong and refuses to show weakness, powering through the pain and exhaustion.  _ If I show weakness now it’s over.  _

“What do you want?” The orange AGE demands, voice desperate. Guilt worms its way into her chest at the sound of it. They’re genuinely  _ afraid _ , and it’s her fault. 

“Let me speak to your commander.” Despite the fact that she phrased it as one, it’s not a request. She jostles her hostage to prove her point, and her eyes land on the hate-filled eyes of the white-haired age. She’s all too aware of how close he still is to his weapon. “But before that, step away from your god arcs. Twenty paces to the right.”

Oh, the white one did  _ not  _ like that. Not only that, he wasn’t moving. He was frozen, limbs locked, face contorting into a ferocious snarl.  _ Maybe I wasn’t so delirious after all if that’s what he looks like when he’s angry.  _

She keeps her face impassive, gaze leveled on them even though she’s barely holding back the urge to shudder. For the second time since she’s taken a hostage, she has to emphasize her point.  _ “Now.” _

The look on his face is pure bitter hatred as he walks over to the other two, stopping exactly twenty paces away from his God Arc. He’s even more tense than before, anxious.  _ Then… wherever they’re from must be similar to Baran. _

That does not bode well for her.

She turns to the black-haired one again. “I need to speak to your commander,” it’s a reminder. She decides he’s the best option to give her a communicator, considering the purple one seemed to have dropped his and white looked liable to try and kill her the second he got within ten feet. “You in the orange, walk forwards slowly, give me your headpiece.”

If anything, the white one looks even  _ more  _ upset by this turn of events.  _ If he ever forgives me, I’ll be beyond lucky. _

The black-haired age responds carefully, complying with her orders. With every step closer, the white-haired one looked even more anxious.  _ He’ll snap soon.  _ The black-haired age pauses, reaches out, and leans forwards to hand her the headpiece, staying as far from her as possible. Before he hands it to her, he says loud and clear: “Hilda, I’m putting our attacker on the line.” Her gut churns at the realization that this is now all she is to them.  _ Why did I attack them? What was I thinking? _

Easy.

She wasn’t.

“She says she wants to talk.”

She takes the headpiece and brings it up to her mouth to speak as the black-haired AGE backs away, takes a breath, and starts to speak. “I am a Baran AGE, codename Lulu. I was left stranded here by my vessel during a mission, and I am requesting transport back to Baran.”

_ “You gave us a rather rough greeting, don’t you think?”  _ The woman on the other line states.  _ She’s upset… on behalf of the AGEs? _

_ No, on behalf of the God Eater most likely. _

“I understand. I apologize for the incident.” She bites her pride down to say it. “However I mean you no harm.”

That gets an immediate reaction from her hostage. “I’m not gonna take that b…” She cuts off her hostage with a harsh shake, pressing the blade into his throat a bit to get her point across. She nearly twitches her arm and cuts his throat on the spot when the white-haired one reflexively lurches forward, pure panic in his eyes. He freezes when he sees what she’s threatening, gritting his teeth, and with clear effort on his part moves himself back a step. She loosens her grip. 

“You should know that I held myself back.” She bluffs. “This is the only method we are taught.”

It is. Any other method would have to be picked up herself.

_ “First I’ll make contact with Baran to confirm your identity. It may take a little time to do that; I assume you can wait while I do?” _

She’s waited five days already. What’s a few more minutes? “That’s fine.”

The next few minutes are a tense standoff. The other AGEs watch her, the God Eater hovers, and her hostage stands like a statue in order to preserve his own life. Her arms ache from the effort of holding him in place, and she’s afraid that her strength will fail her before she’s able to finish negotiations and they’ll abandon her here.

Suddenly she’s glad she has a hostage. It’s the only way to make sure they stay.

Suddenly, footsteps sound and around the corner walks none other than a  _ normal human _ . She gapes at the woman in shock, and the lead AGE turns to her when she walks past, snapping almost like a dog. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Despite the tone, it’s clear he’s worried.

_ This… is their commander? _

_ Why would she come out here herself? Why would she risk her own life to… _

“He’s a member of my crew,” She gestures to the AGE in her grip. “Could you do me a favor and let him go?”

She tightens her grip instead, bringing the blades closer and aiming one at Hilda. “I already told you, You’re bringing me to Baran!”

A look of sympathy crosses her face. “There doesn’t seem to be an AGE like Lulu.”

Those words hit her like a brick wall. “What?”

“I’ve searched every record we have and contacted Baran as well,” she says, “But everywhere I check, the answer is the same. “No person named Lulu exists.””

“That… no, that can’t be right.” If there’s no mention of her, then what was she waiting for all this time? What did she cling to life for like a starving dog waiting for its master to return? Why did she struggle all this time? Why has she even tried to survive thus far? What was the point of it? 

Maybe she survived all this time. Maybe she is still alive… “I-I mean, I was just on a mission…”

But to them, she is as good as dead.

_ I may as well be dead. _

“I’m sorry, but you’re…”

“...I see.” It’s a sudden feeling, like all her strings have been cut and she has nothing more in life holding her up. Her arms lose their strength. There’s no further reason for her to hold on, Her God Arc drops to the ground, and her hostage leaps away as if he were a spring she’d been pushing down. 

Her legs lose strength next. She drops to her knees and doesn’t rise. 

“I.. I’ve been cast aside.”

O

They take her back to their ash crawler. That’s a miracle in and of itself. The God Eater is a medic who treats her for her ash contamination and puts her on an IV to help her catch up on nutrients. She eats a light soup, easy on the stomach in order to prevent her from puking it back up. 

She may be alive, but she has no idea what to do from here. So when she’s strong enough, she just… wanders.

Eventually, she finds her way into a lobby, in which everyone seems to be gathered. There are even a few people she’s unfamiliar with, and they’re talking about her.

She listens, uncomprehending for most of the conversation.  _ They’re… agreeing to let me stay? _

No, not just all of them.

Her hostage, Zeke, and the white-haired AGE Luca who clearly still hated her… they were letting her stay as well.

_ They… get a say in it. _

_ I get a say in it. _

_ I’m… free. _

She has nothing to offer, nothing to give, but Hilda finds a way.

She has a place to go, a new future to discover for herself away from Baran. It’s a strange feeling, like she has no strings and has no idea what to do with herself now that they’re gone…

But somehow, she thinks she’ll figure that out.

O

“Do you hate me?”

“...No.”

“Why? I threatened your friends. You clearly held a grudge for what happened… more than the others.”

“...Hating people is tiring, and Hugo likes you.” The white-haired AGE says. “He convinced me to give you a chance. So far… you’re not that bad. I’m… sorry. For the way I treated you when you first came onboard.”

“No, I should be the one apologizing.” Lulu says. “Can you forgive me?”

“...No.” Her heart drops. “But maybe once we get to know each other a little more.” A gloved hand extends to her, and she meets a wary but sincere blue eye. “So… friends?”

_ What a weird guy.  _ She can’t, however, say that it sounds like a bad idea. Being friends is something she’d like to give a try. “Friends.” She shakes the hand.

For some reason, she doesn’t think she’ll regret this choice she’s made, not even once, and in the weeks, months, and years to come, she will only prove herself right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, Luca and Lulu are now on friendly terms. I hope you all enjoyed it!

**Author's Note:**

> Luca isn't even slightly tsundere at all lol. If you want to see this from Lulu's perspective, feel free to leave a comment.


End file.
